The diesel engine has been around since 1893, the Mini Cooper S arrived in 1963. Now the two are in a May-December romance for the ages. It's called the Mini Cooper SD. But will anyone understand their special love?

By way of its 2.0-liter common-rail turbodiesel, the Mini Cooper SD gets a 60 percent power bump over the base-model Mini One D and 28 percent over the Mini Cooper D. That's 143 hp and a relatively massive 225 lb/ft of torque. Nonetheless, 0-62 mph happens in a second later than a gas-fired Cooper S, at 8.1 seconds. Top speed is a London traffic-camera-triggering 134 mph. Efficiency buffs will happily regard Mini's hybrid-like MINIMALISM features that include brake energy generation and auto start/stop.

Mini's offering the SD experience in all of its UK models: hatch, Clubman, Countryman and Countryman All4. Woefully, like most diesels, the SD is strictly a non-US model. Sad Day.